


We're Trying

by Radio_JackRabbit



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Angst with a Happy Ending, Arakniss protection squad, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Boys in Skirts, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, Heroin is a bastard, Homophobic Language, How Do I Tag, Hurt Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), I can do tags on pc, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Miscommunication, Molly is a badass, Musicals, Protective Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Sibling protection squad, Singing, Tags Are Hard, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, but not on phone, how DARE, there will be a couple ocs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:16:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22442011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Radio_JackRabbit/pseuds/Radio_JackRabbit
Summary: "But why me!? What do you see in me?"A choked, heart breaking sob echos out through the room from the the spider demon."What do you see... that makes me special in your eyes..."
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 197





	1. What A Way To Start A Day.

**Author's Note:**

> This is difficult, my first story here and I have nothing to show. I'm so sorry. Why is all this so hard to do, how do?
> 
> There are a few musical numbers that will be sung, most will be by the star of this fic Angel Dust. I want to do my boy justice and I will try my hardest.

_"You're terrible."_   
  
_"You're only good for being someone's slut for a night."_   
  
_"Get your act together Anthony!"_   
  
_"No one loves you. You're pathetic."_

_"I don't know why Charlie decided to help you! You don't even try!!"_

The voices merged together in a symphony of angry people that have tormented him throughout his life and as well as through his afterlife. The voices were filling his head with doubt and shame. Fuck, he knows he's terrible and he knows he doesn't really have much going for him but he couldn't escape the quicksand that was sucking him into it's depth as he tried to escape. Hands shoot out and start dragging him down more and more. 

No, no no no no!! Please!! Someone help him!!  
  
"Some... one- I can't...!"

  
  
Suddenly, the male sits up and pants heavily as he looks around his room with a wild look in his magenta eyes. He was trying to find the threat of the voices that clawed at his mind, however seeing anything he could only sigh as he looks around now realizing where he is. 

The room is a soft pastel pink with white stripes on it, there were posters of some of his work where he was dressed up in drag however there were mostly pictures of a tall white spider with pink freckles and mismatched eyes but a happy smile on his face with two sets of arms as he holds up a small tiny fat pink pig. Said spider demon sighed softly before finally looking down at his lap when hearing insistent oinks from the tiny pig. He gives the piggy a tiny smile as he picks them up with their lower set of arms.  
  
"Hey there my lil' Fat Nuggets. Did you wake me up?"

He gets a soft little oink in reply which makes the spider let out a tired laugh.

"Well thank you Nuggets. You knew Daddy needed to escape from his nightmare didn't ya? Yes you did! Yes you did!"  
  


He sighs softly again, man he was sighing a lot this morning. Speaking of which, he glances over at the clock and checks what time it is, seeing that is was more late and he missed breakfast makes him realize that not only did Fat Nuggets worry for Angel, but he also wanted out and wanted to eat. A Soft laugh escapes the spider as he picks up Fat Nuggets and places him down on one of the many pillows on the bed, he grins as his lower set of hands places themselves on his hips as his top cross underneath his chest fluff.

"You jus' wanted breakfast don't ya my lil Nugget! Alright, let me get dressed and we'll go do just that!"

Hopefully, he won't hear Vaggie yell at him today, god at first it was annoying, but now that he's honestly really trying to get better and stay off drugs and every other sin he has, he can't help but feel utterly hopeless since she still finds something about him to pick at...

...That's not good enough.

Angel walks over to his closet and opens it, looking at his outfits inside, taking a deep breath as he looks around. He has a smile on his face, hoping it isn't forced, as he decides that he'll wear something casual and comfortable instead of what he usually wears when walking around the hotel.

"Today, today why don't we try something different?"


	2. Good Day to Bad Day!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel tries to spend a late morning and early afternoon with his son, Fat Nuggets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, wasn't expecting to make this chapter long but I gotta admit I was on a role.   
> -was listening to a cute anime opening-  
> Maybe that's why. I mean the chapter titles sound like Anime episode openings so, ya know. If you can dig that I can too!

And try something different he did.

Angel was dressed in more decent looking clothes but they were still comfortable. The baggy sweater was a soft pink in color as he carried Fat Nuggets in his second set of arms as his top hands were busy fixing his hair from his shower, no gloves in sight. He still wore his thigh high boots, but instead of tight booty shorts he decided why the fuck not, and wore a ruffled black skirt his sister Molly had given him a couple months back, it helped, as she put it, give the illusion he had hips and was much curvier then just a stick of demon he was. 

When he had looked in the mirror before leaving the safety of his room, he deemed himself cute, which to him has been a while. He could never dress cute when he finally entered hell, and to his surprise Molly had also been quite upset about it. So she had snuck him clothes that she deemed would make him as cute as a sugar drop again. However because of his line of work, he could never dress cute, only in the safety of his room when he relaxes or when he had a girls night with Cherri and Molly.

So today he was going to be the start of him dressing cute once more! He stopped on the top of the stairs leading to the lobby with a determined look. With that thought alone he now felt energized to face the rest of the day.

He had a prance in his steps now that matched the smile on his face.The ex-porn star was happy, and he wasn’t going to let anyone kick him down back into that sad state. 

At least… for now.

With that he ends up in the lobby, he looks around and upon inspecting the room there is no one around aside from the drunken cat that watches over the front desk and bar. Seeing he was asleep Angel goes over to the bar and looks at Husk, watching the grumpy demon sleep. Getting an idea, Angel gently lifts one of his upper hands and gently taps at Husk’s head right between his ears. He watches them twitch before he gently taps out in morse code ‘good morning’, he stares at Husk only to perk up when he sees Husk bury his face in his arms the way cats do when their naps are disturbed. What makes it better is how Husk grumbles out a reply of ‘morning’ which has Angel smiling happily before slipping away into the kitchen with Fat Nuggets, leaving the cat to rest.

  
  


“Niffty… are ya in ‘ere..?”

The whisper was said as Angel peeks into the kitchen. After a few months of getting to know the tiny energetic demoness, he knows that if she’s in the kitchen she doesn’t want anyone in to disturb her. Though there were times where he could help her with desserts or getting things out of higher shelves, he remembers it like it was yesterday.

_ “Hey Niffty, do ya need help?” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Huh? Oh no thank Miss Angel!” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Are ya sure? That’s uh.. A very high shelf” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “...Well I guess I do..but only this once!!” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Ya got it doll!” _

Angel laughs softly at that little interaction, remembering how whenever he passed her by in the halls she would ask him to meet her in the kitchen. Honestly he was happy to help her out in the kitchen, he enjoyed cooking just like her. Hell, he even helped make dinner for the others.

Though… they all thanked Niffty and a few even thanked Angel knowing he worked, however the pride and happy feeling he had when they thanked him was quickly dashed by Vaggie jokingly saying that Angel must have been a handful, and it stung more when Niffty didn’t say anything because she was too much into a conversation with Charlie about something.

Angel couldn’t remember, since he had lost his appetite that night…

“Ugh!! Stop thinking Angel!!”   
  
Angel yelled at himself as he shook his head back and forth trying to shake of the sadness he could feel creeping back up into his mind. No! He was not going to be sad all day! He was going to have a nice relaxing day with his Fat Nuggets!   
  
With a determined huff, he sets Fat Nuggets down onto the floor, giving him a light pat on the head along with a soft “be good for daddy and don’t wander off”, Angel made quick work of rolling up his sleeves and tugging on an apron that was pink and had frilly lace along the edges. He wanted something warm and sweet and he knew just the thing to make!

“Pancakes! Oh oh! With strawberries and homemade whip cream! What do ya think Nuggets? That sound good? Or do ya want apples instead of strawberries?”   
  
The spider teases the piglet watching it let out a happy little squeal when Angel said apples. Angel giggles and grins, his mood back up at a hundred percent! He gets out a pan, along with a bowl for mixing the homemade whip cream. It’s going to be a process but it’ll be worth it, with that in mind he got to work. First, he decided to make the whip cream, knowing that he’ll need to chill it for a bit more after making it.

“Not a whole lot of sugar, an’ a tiny bit of vanilla. That’ll go a long way for a simple thing like this… right mamma?”   
  
Once that was done he made sure to put a cover on top of the bowl to help it stay fresh as he placed it in the fridge. He gets to work on the pancakes, while doing that he hums a tune to himself, a tune he heard Alastor play many times when the deer would sit and read in the lounge area, his weird staff playing the tune. It was calming Angel thought as mixes the pancake batter, so he sung it softly to himself as he made breakfast for himself and Fat Nuggets. Said little piglet was nosing about the kitchen trying to find scraps that Niffty may have forgotten to clean up, though that’d be impossible.

Soon enough he was done with making breakfast, he wiped his brow lightly with a napkin so he wouldn’t ruin his light makeup he did before coming down earlier. He was happy he accomplished something like this, though he might have gone overboard. Angel glances at the pile of more pancakes still warm and fluffy from being made, he had made a batch of nine pancakes in total, three small sized ones for Fat nuggets, three for himself and three large extras.

With hands on his hips, he gets an idea! 

Carefully he dresses up the three remaining pancakes on a plate, with cut strawberries and whip cream. He quickly goes over to the coffee maker, having decided earlier to make some more, and made a mug of Irish Coffee knowing how Husk likes it. With all three sets of arms out now, he picks up Fat Nugget’s with his lower set of arms, his middle ones holding his and the piglet’s breakfast and his upper set holding the mug of coffee and the extra plate of pancakes.

Exiting out of the kitchen he makes his way back to the lobby seeing the cat still asleep, he smiled softly as carefully set down the mug of coffee and pancakes down. He did the same thing as earlier typing out a morse code on Husk’s forehead.   
  
“Ugh… ya did..?”   
  
More tapping.   
  
“Smells good… thanks fer makin’ it…”   
  
Even more tapping.   
  
“Alright, alright I’m up…”   
  
Husk had started stretching his wings before raising his arms in the air, while Husk was waking up now Angel gave him one more morse code that Husk replied back with his own via tapping one talon like claw on the side of the mug. Angel watches Husk for a moment watching him nurse the irish coffee before waving at Husk in goodbye and walking out to the court yard garden located in the back of the hotel outside, he had found a spot there that was nicely shaded at every hour of the day in hell. 

Making his way out to the garden he relaxed more than ever today. He sets Fat Nugget’s down to roam and go do his lil piggy business as Angel made his way to his little nook in the garden. Getting to a rather large tree that had a black stained wooden bench underneath it, Angel sets down the plates and sits down. When Fat Nuggets comes trotting up, he smiles and pets the pig, as he sets the plate down that was meant for the tiny pig. Angel sighs softly in content watching Fat Nugget’s chow down, soon enough Angel picked up his own plate and started eating as well, humming softly in happiness.

Yes. This is exactly what he needed after such a terrible way of starting the day. Nothing could ruin this moment right here, right now.

When suddenly, speak of the devil and he’ll appear, a shadow weaved it’s way through the plants till it was in the shadow of the large tree that shaded the spider from the afternoon heat of hell. He felt it more than heard it, getting that feeling he was being watched, he knows so since his fur started fluffing up in that defensive way to make himself look bigger. Nugget’s wasn’t bothered since he was still eating, lucky. 

“I just wanted to eat in peace…”   
  
He muttered to himself as he took one last, but rather large bite of his pancakes, he was not going to stop, that was until-

“So sorry my effeminate fellow, but Charlie requires your attendance!!”   
  
Angel lets out a noise as he chokes on some of his pancake he was chewing. As he coughs and pats at his chest he turns around and looks at the red cladded demon that was smiling at him in a way that showed he enjoyed seeing Angel suffer right now. Once the coughing stopped Angel glares at Alastor as he hisses out at him.

“Oh yeah? What for?”   
  
“It’s something very important she says and needs to be spoken about urgently. She was very excited!”   
  
“Yeah well… tell her to wait, I’m eating right now!”   
  
“No no, she strictly told me to get you and make sure you arrive.”   
  
Angel glared at the deer man, yes he flirted with him a lot, but he eased up on it now and hoped that they could at least be friends. That was not the case! If anything Alastor ignored him more then ever unless it was to inform him that Charlie needed him and for the monthly room inspections the hotel does now since more patients decided to sign up for redemption. Not only that but Angel won’t lie to himself, he sees the way Alastor acts with Charlie more than anyone else, and fuck him for lying if he said it didn’t hurt that he wished the deer would look at him like that. 

Angel turns back around, back facing the smiling demon.   
  
“You don’t gotta escort me like I’m a child. I’ll see in a few minutes… I need to take Fat Nuggets up to my room before I go see her.”   
  
“Hmm- very well! Know I’ll have you dragged through the shadows if you don’t show up!”   
  
And like that the Radio demon quickly disappeared like how he arrived. Angel sat there, staring at the ground. Fat Nuggets had finished his breakfast and looked up at Angel, oinking in distress as he looked up at his owner. 

  
Tears started falling onto the remaining pieces that Angel hadn't finished as he looked from the ground to Fat Nuggets and gave the pig a weak smile.   
  
“Don’t worry Nuggets… I’ll try to keep smiling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -does a dumb anime pose with Angel-  
> Next time on We're Trying!
> 
> "You want me to what!?"
> 
> "What no way! Anyone but Vaggie, Charlie!"
> 
> "Hey! Watch it!"
> 
> -another dumb anime pose with Angel-  
> Next episode! "Trying to Reconnect"


	3. Trying To Reconnect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait!!! I was hit with massive writers block as well as being completely busy with irl stuff. But I'm back with another chapter and I hope to have chapter 4 up sometime real soon, in a week I hope!

It took some time for Angel to stop his sob-fest and for Fat Nuggets to finish off his owner’s food since Angel knew he wasn’t going to eat anymore since his appetite was ruined. He pulls out a small compact mirror from his chest fluff and opens it to look at his face, he sighs in dismay as he sees that his makeup has run. 

Shit he looked like a disaster, and after all that work to make himself look at least a little put together earlier this morning. The compact mirror snaps shut with a harsh click as Angel closed it rather harshly before shoving it back into his fluff.  
  


“Alright, let’s go then… Come on Fat Nuggets! Up you go!”  
  


Angel gathers up the plates while his lower set of arms scoops up the little piglet so they can get going. He looks around making sure that shadow wasn’t anywhere near him at the moment. Oh to be able to control his shadow like Al just so he could use his own shade to punch Al’s shadow. With that fleeting happy thought he was a bit perked up enough, that he could walk with his usual confidence.

Getting to the lobby, he sees the empty coffee mug and plate, in one motion he passes the bar to go and pick up the silverware only to have all three plates and mug be taken from his hands and held away from him. He looks at Husk, who in return, gives Angel a once over.

  
“Yeah, no. You go take care of yourself. You look like a fucking mess.”

“Ah! At least let me wash ‘em! It’ll help-”

“No way kid. You’ll calm down much better if ya go fix yourself up.”  
  
Angel wants to retort back but he bites his tongue as he looks at Husk’s grumpy face. The old cat wasn’t going to budge in this, so with a heavy sigh, Angel gave Husk a small smile and a whispered thank you.  
  
“Yeah don’t mention it. And I mean that you fucker!”  
  
The last part is yelled out towards the spider since his long legs already had him halfway up the stairs.  
  
“Yeah, yeah! I got it babe!”

  
Angel acted like he didn’t care but both he and Husk knew he very well did.

  
The white arachnid enjoyed hanging out with the cat, it was like he was alive again and hanging out with his uncle from his mother’s side, the old bastard would talk on and on about the first world war and such. Husk does the same thing as he expands more about where he used to work when he was alive and even sometimes showed Angel some of his magic tricks. It was relaxing and helped Angel find somewhat of an ally in the hotel as he worked on his own way to redemption.

Angel is brought out from his thoughts when Fat Nuggets makes a small noise that has him realize that they stopped in front of his door. He giggles out a tiny apology to Fat Nuggets as he opens the door and enters his room. Once the door is closed, he walks over to his bed and lightly tosses Fat Nuggets onto a soft fluffy pillow that has the pig let out a happy squeal which helps brighten up Angel’s mood. He gives Nuggets a kiss on the top of his little noggin, before going over to his vanity and with the skills only a spider can have, he gets to work wiping off his makeup with some wipes then reapplying a soft light natural look, this time he does soft pastel pink colors.

“Well… I look better than I did. Alright. Let’s get this show on the road!”  
  
Getting up, Angel goes to exit his room only to pause for a moment. He looks at his reflection in the full body mirror and turns this way and that.  
  
“It’s nothing bad… you’ll be okay.”

With that soft prayer to himself, he opens the door and walks out. Only to suddenly pause when he sees the one person he didn’t want to see at the moment, outside his door leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway. 

“Oh you didn’t decide to dress up my effeminate fellow?”

“Fuck off Smiles. I’m going.”  
  


Alastor only grins, his eyes narrowing as he watches Angel walk past him.

Angel, wanting to show he wasn’t going to let Alastor hold anything against him, straightening his back and with purpose, walked with the grace and confidence of a runway model. He could care less as he walks down to the lobby with Alastor trailing behind him. He wouldn’t admit it either that it made him happy that he towered over the Radio Demon cause of their height difference. Passing Husk, Angel waves at him before going down the hallway that leads to Charlie’s office. Looking at the intricate doorway, Angel takes a deep breath before heading inside with dignity and striding over to the chair in front of the Princess’s desk. He takes a seat and crosses one long leg over the other, sitting there with purpose as he also crosses both sets of arms. His upper arms crossed under his chest fluff while the lower pair laid limply crossed over his lap.

Let the meeting commence, he guesses.

Charlie on the other hand is bouncing excitedly in her chair as she looks at him with a happy grin. His eyes move over to Vaggie, seeing the Latina give Charlie a fond smile before shooting him a glare catching him staring. Angel could only stick his tongue out at her, since she keeps picking on him, he may as well retaliate right? The little staring contest is stopped by Charlie clearing her throat.  
  
“Angel, I have some very good news!!!”  
  
“Wha- what is it??”  
  
It couldn’t be he was being kicked out was it? No Charlie would be sad and telling him like someone was trying to tell him someone ran Fat Nuggets over. Instead it looked like she was trying to make him guess, like she was trying to get it to be a surprise.

“You’ve been so good lately and working really hard to better yourself that I have decided to let some of your family visit you!! And a family member agreed to come visit occasionally with others too!! Isn’t that exciting?”

It was like time stopped, his eyes widened as he stared at her. Nothing was okay about this, which part of his family is visiting, which one of his family members were going to treat this like a circus and look at him as if he was a clown? Which ones were going to be happy about this? The nightmare from earlier was crawling back into his mind, digging its claws into his frozen fearful heart as he looked at her.  
  


“Uh...um which of my family is visiting?”  
  


If it was his pops or any other homophobic piece of garbage in his family, he wanted nothing to do with them. When he’s with Charlie he knows now that he can speak his mind and show her what frightens him, but recently every time he tried to talk to her alone Alastor would pop up and drag her away somewhere else to discuss business and sometimes it would be Vaggie too but she at least was patient enough to wait till Angel was done speaking with Charlie but he would be too embarrassed to continue and say he forgot something he needed to do and walk away. It was like those two were trying to make him fail at the whole redemption thing, but he didn’t want to fail. It has done him so much good to be in a positive environment for once! He wasn’t going to back down now even if those two are in the same room as him right now.  
  
“Let me see again. It was… a spider named Molly? She requested for tomorrow if it was okay if you and her would meet in the shopping district for lunch. I told her that was all okay but that you would be accompanied by a chaperon. Is that okay?”

Charlie gave him a soft smile, and he saw how she glanced at Alastor who was standing behind Angel near the door, and glancing over at Vaggie. Angel noticed her then gave him a look of ‘are you okay?’, which had him smile back at her. So she realized what’s been going on, that’s good. Taking a deep breath, Angel closes his eyes for a moment and thinks about the offer that was given to him. Charlie told him that if he was good for a month he would be given access to go hang out with his friends and gain visiting rights. He was given a goal and that goal has been granted, not only that but it was Molly! His sweet twin sister! He remembers seeing her before and crying and yelling at that situation.  
  


_“Anthony!?”_

_The spider was currently working a corner but he knew that voice even if it was a miles away. He whipped around and stared at the other brightly colored spider. He couldn’t understand what he was seeing, even though they were both spiders he knew it was his sister._ _  
__  
__“Molly!?”  
  
_

_They had excitedly ran to one another only to cry and look at one another. Until it had hit Angel what was going on.  
  
_

_“You’re so sweet and nice Molly!! What- what are ya doin’ down here in this type of place!? Yer supposed to be up there with Ma!!”  
_ _  
__“...Anthony…”  
_  
That will forever be seared into his brain, that memory of her holding him and explaining to him why she was down there. How she knew that if their pop really did curse Angel telling him to die in hell, like hell she would leave him all alone in this place by himself. Molly knew their mama would want her to be with Angel. However she couldn’t watch over him like she promised, once their pop found out it was hard for her to go anywhere without either a member of the mafia following her or their big brother Arakniss. Not only that but back then Angel was under contract with Valentino, still is, so that made it even harder. Angel opened his eyes and looked at Charlie, his upper pair of arms moving down to rest on his lap. He looked down at his ungloved hands before finally looking up at Charlie and flashing a happy grin at the princess.

“Ya know it toots! I’m down to go meet her and finally be out of the hotel for a bit!”  
  
He had laughed happily as he told Charlie, who in return giggled. Once the giggle fest stopped between them, she made herself be collected again as she looked over the papers then up at Angel with a smile.

“Of course you know you’ll still need a chaperon, and said chaperon will be… Vaggie!”

Charlie says this all with a smile as she turns to look at her girlfriend. Course this has both Vaggie and Angel both go into a sputtering mess as they try to explain their honest refusal about this pairing.  
  


“You want me to what!?”  
  


“What no way!! Anyone but Vaggie, Charlie!!”  
  


Vaggie turns to look at Angel, and hisses in anger at him.  
  


“Hey! Watch it!!”  
  


Angel glares at Vaggie and she returns the glare with her own. Both seething in tense anger as stare. Charlie on the other hand, simply waves her hands at both of them to get them to stop the staring contest and listen to her. They do so reluctantly, neither hearing the static-like laughter of the other demon currently in the room with them. Charlie relaxes once she sees them calm down and look back at her, even though they still looked tense, she carefully went over what she wanted to say quickly in her head before speaking.  
  
  
“I know, you two don’t get along, but you both need to work on getting along. Angel if you don’t cause Vaggie trouble tomorrow then I will happily give you some extra good boy points for the bar. Think of this as another goal for getting better! And Vaggie, I know you think Angel isn’t doing much, but he really is. So please be calm about the situation? For me? If you do, I will happily take you out for dinner and a dance at your favorite restaurant!”   
  


She knew she was bribing her girlfriend and her only patient right now, but she needed them to work together and by giving them a goal, she knew that they would both try their damn hardest to complete their tasks! She looks at both Angel and Vaggie, gauging their reactions as she happily beams even more as she sees them both reluctantly nod with her decision as they look at her.  
  


“Great! You both do your absolute best tomorrow okay? Good luck!!”  
  


Angel couldn’t help but sit there and look between the two then glance over his shoulder at the now empty spot where Alastor once was. He sighs softly and gives a small grin. Well, guess he’ll try and be friends with Vaggie as he reconnects with his sister.


	4. Spider Family and A Moth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's... been a while. 
> 
> I have no excuse other then it being College and midterms. 
> 
> Also I'm a procrastinator so... yeah.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! it's super dialogue heavy! Well.. I think it is... idk after all first public fanfic, ya know the drill.

The next day, Angel Dust was walking with Vaggie to the meeting point that Charlie explained was where Molly wanted them to meet. It was a small cozy cafe that Angel was surprised to know was in hell. He mostly had met awful sinners that only wanted him for his body, but surprisingly he was happy to know that there were other sinners that were like Molly and Vaggie. What he meant by that was how there were friendly sinners that didn’t have any other intention than that, they were friendly. So he was ecstatic that he could go somewhere where he could be with Molly. However, that excitement was dampened when his lower hands moved to fiddle with the front of the dress he was wearing. He wore a cute pink strapless dress that Cherri bought him, it had even more ruffles underneath the top skirt so it gave off curves and he was happy with how it fluffs up when he walks or bounces. He still wore his thigh high boots and over the top of the dress he wore a black leather jacket, his makeup was light and natural with more soft tones of pink and red. He looked spunky but his expression didn’t fit the whole look as he walked with Vaggie.    


Vaggie seems to notice as she looks up at him with her one good eye. Earlier he was happy and practically skipping down the stairs and to the lobby where she was waiting. Now here they are on their way to the meeting point but now that she notices his expression and she can’t help but worry now too.

“Hey, everything alright?”

The question shocks him as he looks down at Vaggie, his upper hands now wringing together as his lower ones continue to play with the skirt of the dress. He doesn’t stop since it helps him relax a bit as he faces the other way, looking at the cars passing by and across the street as they walk. He takes his time in wanting to answer, not really wanting to say anything thinking she might laugh at him or say he’s worrying for nothing. Though when he glances at her again, she’s still looking at him with concern since they stopped walking. The spider takes a deep breath before finally replying as he looks at her.

“Y- No… Not really...”

“Why? It’s only your sister, right?”  
  
“No, it’s not that. When our dad found out, he either kept her at home or sent out a bodyguard or our big brother Arakniss to go with her, and since our pops hated my absolute guts! Which he still does mind you. I could never go and visit her or go out with her!”

He was yelling now as he ranted to Vaggie. “When I was alive, it was sometime in the 1940s. Back then you could guess how well us gays were treated, yeah? My pops had found out I was gay, I kept it so well hidden you’d think I’d get away scott free but I didn’t. Ya see toots, he only found out cause of a dumb dress I had hidden in my closet. It was a pretty little thing too, matched my eyes.” 

The yelling had slowly stopped as he now spoke in a whisper to Vaggie. He moved his head to the side to indicate for them to continue walking. She could only nod as she listened to him continue the story as they walked.

“At the time, I tried so hard to say it wasn’t mine, that I bought it for Molly since our birthday was coming up. It didn’t work, since my big brother showed off the black wig I had as well as the… a lil love letter my old flame had given me. That letter, the wig, and the dress… All of it, proof that they belonged to me.”   
  
He lets out a laugh that bubbles up weakly and soon turns into a soft sob as they walk. He looks down at Vaggie, which has her lookup. She’s shocked to notice just how old Angel looks as he speaks about his past. While staring down at her, he gives her a weak grin; he didn’t care how he looked or how he was showing her the most vulnerable part of himself to her as they are walking down a busy street before looking ahead as they walk.   
  
“Didn’t matter at all though, he was planning on kicking me out of the house since he had a “Gut feeling” about how I was gay. It hurts, lemme tell ya toots.”

Vaggie doesn’t say much aside from trying to stay in stride with Angel, since he was walking normally with his longer stride. He glances down only to pause for a bit when he notices that he sort of left her in the dust. Once catching up, he resumes walking with her, only now with a slower stride so she doesn’t have to jog to catch up. They say nothing for a while as they make their way, the silence is cut through as Vaggie speaks to him.   
  
“Yeah… I know it was a lot more terrible back then but we’re gaining our rights now! The living is still fighting for their rights and we’ve gotten close to it, sorta… But some of us still go through terrible things, still worse or less worse… It depends on the people and community they live in. And on the people that care and help their friends that are going through tough times…”   
  
The last part was all but mumbled as she looked down at the sidewalk as they walked. She felt emotions going rampant in her mind and in her heart. Angel’s story was sad but it’s not what was truly making her think of Angel in the different lighting, it was the situation he was in. She could agree with the father figure being disgusted and kicking their child out, she related to that. They both had tried to play it off but it was no good. Her fists clenched tightly at her side when she thought about it.   
  
While she was lost in her raging emotions, Angel was staring at her, tilting his head this way and that, as if he didn’t quite understand. Was she… was she really agreeing with what he was saying? And even trying to comfort him in a sense? He couldn’t help the small smile that grew on his face as they got closer to the cafe. Well, it seems like they might become friends after all. Well he hopes. Fuck, he really hopes they can. Both demons jump in surprise at hearing a loud squeal of delight; both look up and see another brightly colored arachnid demon, she looks exactly like Angel and just as tall. She has four arms and four legs, how she was able to walk is amazing. Still she rushes over to Angel with both sets of arms held out to hug him, which he gladly accepts with his multi limbed hug.   
  
“Anthony!!!!”   
  
“Molly!!”   
  
They both look at each other and grin happily at one another. They both speak at the same time, showing how uncanny they both are with the twin thing.   
  
“I missed you so much!! Do you know how long it’s been!?”   
  
Vaggie’s eyes widen as she looks between the two, watching them chatter with one another as they link arms and walk to the cafe to sit down where Molly was originally sitting. Vaggie squints when seeing a much smaller spider demon, who was dark in color and had all eight eyes on the taller siblings. Once all three get closer, the smaller demon gets up from his seat as they get closer. Angel pauses when seeing his brother, he glances at him then at Vaggie once he notices that they’re having a weird stare off.    
  
Angel coughs into his hand causing both smaller demons to look at him and Molly. His sister was also quietly observing but made a motion to both to calm down. Angel clears his throat again as he makes a motion to his sister.   
  
“Vaggie. This here is my sistah Molly. She’s my twin, ya can kinda tell but not really. An’ that grumpy one there is my big brotha Arakniss.”   
  
When introducing Molly and Arakniss, both siblings said their hellos to Vaggie, who in turn said her own greetings. When the introductions were done they all sat at the table that the two spider siblings had gotten. Vaggie couldn’t trust Arakniss at the beginning of this little meetup, since she remembers Angel telling her about Arakniss being like an escort for Molly. However, they ordered their drinks and something to eat, that was when Arakniss coughed to get their attention.   
  
“Anthony… I...”   
  
He mumbles something only for Molly to gently pat the eldest siblings shoulder in encouragement causing Angel to once again tilt his head curiously, eyes narrowed a bit. His fur was fluffed up more in a precaution of “do I need to fight?” and “what’s going on?”. Vaggie was also on alert as they both looked at Arackniss. The black spider takes a deep breath before looking at Angel, and locking eyes.   
  
“I’m so sorry Tony.”   
  
Angel tenses, never before hearing his brother sound so… distraught. Sounding so much like his brother was close to breaking down. He only knows this much since he’s been down that hole plenty of times.   
  
“For what?”   
  
“For everything. For how I treated ya when we were alive. Just- I know I have no say or shit, but for once Tony, believe me! I hate only havin’ one of my lil siblings to watch over. Yer dumb jokes when we went out to do jobs for the family were something I deeply missed. I’ll be honest and I told Moll this before… but out of both of ya, yer more like our ma.”   
  
The weight of the emotions on each word that came out of Arakniss had Angel reeling with an emotion he hasn’t felt for his brother in a long time. He didn’t want to show weakness to his big brother yet he could tell that Arakniss was doing the same thing. God, how stupid are they being right now? He gets up from his seat and walks around the table to hug his now much smaller big brother. Arkaniss in turn, tenses up before finally succumbing to the embrace with a watery sniffle. Angel laughs softly as he weeps.   
  
“Look at us. Snivelin and being two emotional wrecks over shit. I won’t be afraid to admit that what you an’ pops did really really fucked me up. But it makes me happy ta know I can at least have my big bro back on my side.”   
  
He was crying fully now, having swapped places so his brother was on his lap as they hugged tightly. Glancing over at Molly, he sees her cover her mouth with tears in her eyes. Arakniss, seeing the same thing, holds up his hand and makes a motion to Molly which instantly has her getting up to hug both her brothers. The spider siblings are slowly regaining their old way of being together. The trio that lasted for only a short amount of time when they were younger. Arakniss speaks softly to both his siblings now.   
  
“I’m sorry you two… I think back on it all and I should have been a better big brother. Ha… ma wanted me ta protect both of ya and yet here we all are. I left one to suffer and be kicked out and the other went down the path none of us wanted her to…”   
  
Molly and Angel looked at each other then back to their brother. Angel, knowing it’ll take a lot of effort and a lot of time to heal, was at least somewhat happy to know that Arakniss is willing to reconnect with both Molly and him. Angel may be suffering from being everyone’s last choice and not being good enough, he at least knows he will be his siblings first choice. His pops can go die by an angel sent from God, but hell or high water, he won’t ever let his siblings be knocked down by their old man. No, not like him. He will protect his siblings or die a second time as he tries.   
  
After the small sob feast they have, things go back to normal and conversation flows freely, even Vaggie joins in on the conversations. Once they finish eating and are finishing the last bits of their drinks, Vaggie has a question. Throughout the conversation, she noticed how Angel and Arakniss would praise their sister to heaven high and realized that while Molly spoke, she really was super nice. The questioning thought slipped out before she could stop it.   
  
“Wow. You’re really nice… how did you get down here?”   
  
The three siblings paused and looked at Vaggie causing her to panic, before Molly laughed quietly as she looked down at her tea.   
  
“Well… it’s a long story! So buckle up buttercup!”   
  
The three looked at her as she took a sip of drink before looking at them all before calmly speaking to Vaggie.   
  
“The reason why I’m down here is because I dirtied my hands with blood. Once Tony was kicked out, I begged, I cried for him to be able to return, but papa said no. I was devastated especially when he told me that Tony was gay and would rot away in hell. Now understand, I don’t mind my brother being gay, since he’s my twin, my other half. I was pissed off at Arakniss but.. I forgave him once he told me how much it weighed on his mind. Still, I’m down here because I knew even though my brothers can handle themselves they still have to deal with papa. So even though I wasn’t doing work for the Family, I still got my hands bloody. After all if Tony can dress up like a woman, then I can clearly dress up like a man.”   
  
Now this was a new development to the story that either Angel or Arakniss heard as they looked at her with wide eyes.   
  
“What do you mean by that Moll?? What did you do??”   
  
Arakniss was the one to blurt out what they were all thinking. His lil sister could only smile softly in a bashful way as she continued.   
  
“Arakniss is down here like papa because of the Family. I’m down here because… because I killed the men that dared used my brother Tony, that harmed him in any way.”   
  
Vaggie softly speaks as her one good eye widens at the implications that Molly makes.   
  
“You’re not down here because of your family’s crimes. You’re down here because-”   
  
“That’s right. I’m a murder, I may have killed for a good cause on behalf of Tony, but once killing them I couldn’t stop, I had people hire me.”   
  
Angel and Arakniss spoke at the same time, their look of awe clear on both their faces.   
  
“You became an assassin for hire.”   
  
She could only giggle and nod, still she looked at Vaggie and gave a weak smile to the tiny moth demon.   
  
“Those men are down here, I don’t hurt them but I do hunt them down so they don’t treat my Tony like shit! And those that know me still hire me.”   
  
Angel could only grab onto one of Molly’s hands with his own as he looked at her and gave her a smile, he looked like he was going to cry.   
  
“Are ya the reason why some Johns look like they’re gonna piss themselves if they treat me roughly?”   
  
“I can neither confirm or deny that.”   
  
“Thank ya Molly… ye didn’t have ta.”   
  
The small calm and thankful atmosphere is completely ruined when Arakniss makes a noise like he got an idea. They all look at him as he fiddles with his fedora as he mumbles something. Molly paps him on the shoulder as Angel questions him.   
  
“What’s up Arakniss?”   
  
The spider demon speaks up to his siblings and Vaggie.   
  
“Pops is out with his buddies on the other side of the city. I… I think this would be a perfect time for us to do… a… um..”   
  
Molly gasps with excitement as she realizes what he’s trying to say. She looks at Angel and grins happily which has Angel giggling too with how excited she is.   
  
“Sibling bondin’!! We haven’t gone out tagether since we were little tots!! Oh it’ll be so much fun!!”   
  
“That’s… that’s not a bad idea honestly!! Vaggie can we? Or did Charlie say I need to be back at the Hotel within a specific time?”   
  
Vaggie crosses her arms as she thinks about. She and Angel both knew that they were indeed needed back at the hotel before midnight, which has the little moth sigh since she knew exactly why.   


“We need to be back by midnight. So in a sense yes we can be out all day if you’d like.”   
  
She actually smiles when looking at Angel, and she won’t admit how her smile turns into a bigger smile seeing how Angel fluffs up in excitement as well as how the other two spider siblings also do the same thing. Now she’s looking at three fluffy spiders that are excited to be together and hang out. Now that they had a plan in motion, they finished their lunch and paid for it. They got up and started to window shop since the cafe was located in the shopping district of Pentagram City. They enjoyed the hours that they got to have together, Arakniss and Vaggie both watching Molly and Angel gush over different types of suits and dresses that were in the windows display cases. The twins had amused looks when they passed by a window that displayed weapons and saw both Vaggie and Arakniss discussing the different types of weapons before joining them to look as well. 

While they all continued to look about sometimes even going into stores to buy something if it looked interesting. They were walking out of a crafts store, bags in hand aside Arakniss since he explained to them why he couldn’t bring it home in hand, as well as why he was kinda weary about doing the craft thing at home. Which has Angel look at him, all hands holding some type of bag, he cocks his head to the side in curiosity.   
  
“Why not? Ya can hide the stuff in Moll’s room can’t ya?”   
  
“Yeah! My room can’t be entered without a knock, ye know that Arakniss…”   
  
Both of them keep pressing about it until he finally shouts at them, his fur standing on end as he blurts out in embarrassment.   
  
“I got a boyfriend! He’s amazin’ and a fuckin’ whiz about machinery, yeah he doesn’t have any legs but a tail but ya know somethin’ about a classy fucker has me giddy.”   
  
He doesn’t get to finish since his siblings both crushed him into a hug as they excited squeal causing him to shout now in embarrassed anger. However they all freeze when hearing a very, very familiar shout of anger. Angel feels the cold claws of icy fear grip his heart and stop his breathing like he was sucker punched in the gut. He feels Arakniss shake like a leaf in a harsh wind while feeling all four arms of his sister tighten around both him and Arakniss in a protective fury of her own. That man was supposed to be on the other side of town, why is he here in this place? There is nothing here to warrant him to be in this place at this time. He glances off to look into the middle of the city and sees that giant clock tower. Shit, he knows why, it’s late now they spent the whole afternoon walking and talking that the time escaped him, of course that old bastard would want to know where Arakniss and Molly are. It’s dinner time and no mafia family dinner can start until all are present, which his siblings weren’t. He flinches when he hears Heroin shout again causing the three siblings to break apart and stand facing him, however he hears the words that his old man is yelling which has him look down.   
  
“What is this?! What the fuck is this you two are doin’?? You were meant to ditch the fag before dinner!! So I come lookin’ and I hear that there was another!? Living in the same house?? I thought you were betta than that fag Arakniss!! This is your fault isn’t it!?”   
  
The last few words were yelled out with such poison towards Angel Dust, that it causes him to flinch at the harsh words but he sees Arakniss crumple under the slurs and harsh yelling a lot more than him. It breaks his heart that Arakniss is now in the same situation as him. The loud raging rant that the much older spider is yelling at the three siblings is too much even for Vaggie. Molly wants to fight back but even she knows that won’t be a good idea. However the two sides are surprised when Angel takes a step forward and then a step to his right to be in front of Arakniss. Said black arachnid is in tears but holding his hat in front of his face to hide the shame he feels but he does look up when he hears Angel speak, looking up at the back of his brother.

“IT AIN’T MY FAULT THAT I’M GAY!! YER THE FUCKIN’ ONE AT FAULT, YE RUINED OUR LIVES! YA RUINED MA’S!! YA DON’T THINK WE HEARD IT? YA BEATING HER UP? TREATIN’ HER LIKE SHE WAS YER PERSONAL PUNCHING BAG??”   
  
There was a thick air of silence at the words that came from Angel. He drops his bags as he raises all his hands, his lower arms spread out like he was stopping Heroin and his Gang from trying to get to his siblings and Vaggie, his top pair had summoned a tommy gun. The tall spider’s stance was showing off that confidence but the three behind him could see that he was shaking. He’ll admit he was scared, this was nerve wrecking since he was always scared of the man in front of him. In the hotel and actually starting to feel better about himself, he realized that he had obstacles to get over before being redeemed and he knew that one of them was getting over the “daddy-issues”. The talk earlier with Vaggie had him thinking, they were getting their rights up top and he couldn’t help but feel proud of that. He even did his own research once in a great while throughout his time he was here and it always made him overjoyed. So this time, he was going to stand up to the man that ruined his life up top. Who ruined the sweetest lady he knew, but now he was going to ruin his big brother’s life. His brother was the strongest he knew but to see him crumple and wilt under the slurs that Angel has heard for years? Now that pisses him off. The white spider glares at Heroin, as the old spider lets out a harsh laugh.   
  
“I can see you shaking boy. What can you possibly do?”   
  
Shit. He was right, Angel could still feel how he’s shaking, he knew the shaking in his hands would stop him from pulling the trigger. However he feels himself instantly relax as he feels his siblings take the hands of his lower set of arms, he glances to his left to see Arakniss not only holding his hand but also using his lower right hand to grip at the hem of Angel’s skirt. Glancing to his right he sees Molly standing tall on her feet, her top pair of arms crossed but her lower hands cradling Angel’s right hand. However, what makes him relax even more is how Vaggie stands in front of him now, a spear in hand as she points it at Heroin, her bow pointing sharply up like a pair of horns as she speaks.   
  
“I don’t know what your deal is for hating on your own flesh and blood, but I know one thing for sure. What makes up a family and what strengthens that bond more is acceptance. Angel’s siblings are showing how accepting they are not only for him but for each other and that’s enough to show me that they even bond over their hatred for you! You treated your youngest son like shit!! You didn’t listen to a single word from the only daughter you had, and beat their mother!! You’re nothing but absolute trash you fucker!! A family is a safe space from the hated of the world, they shouldn’t antagonize their own family members…”, Vaggie says in a stern voice before glancing down at the sidewalk as she speaks softly this time, “ I know I haven’t shown any kindness to Angel, I always gave him a hard time over the past couple months… but I know now… I saw a part of him today that I want to protect! So if you want to fight then we can!!”   
  
She snarls at the spider in front of her, while the three siblings behind her are in awe, mostly Angel is. He has tears in his eyes that slowly trickle down his face as he looks at her, his looks at her with a soft look as he croaks out her name.   
  
“Vaggie… I-”   
  
He gets cut off by Heroin.   
  
“Tch! Fine you bitch, but know this ain’t the end, if anything I’m holding all four of you accountable and as a threat to the Family!! If any of you enter my territory I’ll have you killed on sit! Got it?”, He glances at Arakniss and Molly before scoffing and turning around, “You two better gather your things and hurry outta there!! If I see you’re still in my house I’ll kill you on sight!”   
  
The group watches Heroin walk away with his goons. They continue to stand there in the middle of the sidewalk in tense silence before Arakniss breaks the silence with a whisper.   
  
“How the fuck are we alive right now…?”   
  
That causes Angel and the two gals to let out a shaky laugh as they look at the smaller spider. When they all look at eachother, they burst into tears and do a group hug, talking over one another as they continue the hug.   
  
“That was scary! Angel I’m so proud of ya! Ye stood up against Pops!”   
  
“W-well I needed to do somethin’, I couldn’t just stand there and let him diss out Arakniss!”   
  
“God I’m surprised that worked, I was shaking!”   
  
“No, no Vaggie ya did great!! Better than me!"   
  
“Are you kidding?? Both of you did fucking wonderful!”   
  
They all chatted as they shakenly picked up the dropped bags and started walking, all huddled together in silence. They didn’t realize until thirty minutes later that they were walking to the hotel. Angel blinked at the giant sign that read “Hazbin Hotel” until he got an idea and turned to his siblings that were also looking up at the hotel.   
  
“Why don’t you two join the hotel!?”   
  
Molly and Arakniss are both surprised by his shout as he looks at them. They glance at each other then up at the hotel before they smile at Angel. They nod and grin happily which has Angel joining in on the happiness, the three hug and whisper to each other, tears falling from their eyes as they all hug.   
  
“I’m not letting you two go ever again. I’m so sorry…”   
  
“It’s not your fault Arakniss… though you may have had a part, I know I can forgive you a lot easier than that fuckin’ geezer.”   
  
“I’m so happy to have you both back… I couldn’t stand the wall that was built up.”   
  
They all continued to hug and whisper comforting words till they broke apart and followed Vaggie into the hotel. Once inside, they notice Charlie was waiting at the bar for them. She smiles at them only to blink and look at the two extra spiders. She looks at Angel with a curious smile, they don’t speak but she could tell what he wants from her. She makes a motion to the hall that leads to her office.   
  
“Welcome to the Happy Hotel! Would you like to sign in?”   
  
Molly and Arakniss both nod and follow Charlie. Molly decides to tell Charlie the situation as they walk away, leaving Angel and Vaggie standing in the lobby of the hotel. It’s a calm quiet that eases them both to sit on the couch. Angel can feel the heaviness of Vaggie’s head resting on his shoulder, and seems like she’s tired too.   
  
“Maybe you should rest upstairs toots. Might be better than resting on a spider that’s slouching.”   


“Nah… this is fine.”   
  
“Ya know… I’m happy that you were there. He was absolutely terrifying…”   
  
“Yeah, I could tell. Still I’m glad… I’m glad you and your siblings had a great time before that shitshow happened.”   
  
He can only hum in agreement before he realizes she fell asleep on him, he blinks in surprise before closing his own eyes with a grin on his face. He didn’t only reconnect with his family but he even connected with Vaggie on this outing. Slowly but surely, he’s going to try and stay connected to those he holds dear now. He even feels relieved that they have his back too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking around in this dumpster fire of mine. If you seen anything wrong just let me know! Also the plot is somewhere!! Sorry this first chapter is so short! But again thank you for reading!!


End file.
